Ranking Every WWE Change Affected By The ‘Fiend’ From Worst To Best

5. Finn Bálor

Randy Orton
WWE.com

This is where things start getting good.

Finn Bálor badly needed a change in the summer of 2019 - he needed one long before that, to be fair, but it never seemed imminent. Then, when WWE revealed that he'd be the 'Fiend's' first opponent at SummerSlam 2019, the entire wrasslin' world groaned. These guys had already had a sh*tty feud years before, and that had yielded one of the most unfortunately-comical scenes ever.

The good news is that SummerSlam's follow-up was short. It was little more than a vehicle to put Wyatt's new persona over and send Bálor spinning off to pastures new. Or old. Whatever way you slice it though, his jump back to NXT did wonders for the formerly-smiling (he always smiled), happy-go-lucky Irishman.

Finn turned heel, showed a meaner edge and cut his best WWE promos yet. NXT's surroundings suit him better than Raw or SmackDown, and he's since gone on to reign supreme as the brand's top champion. There's no doubt that having that run-in with the 'Fiend' helped ignite his change.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.